tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71124434898867583682018-05-28T23:48:27.736-04:00Social Media MunchiesThe social media blog talking about Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Youtube and othersJake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725188474273472839noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-48198271329736164532010-03-07T16:57:00.011-05:002010-03-08T08:44:27.213-05:00Starting or Improving a BlogEvery year we're inundated with statistics from sources like Technorati, Forrester and others that the number of blogs continues to grow. Whether you are an administrator of multiple blogs or looking to create your first one we can all rally around the idea that we want to make a blog the best it can be. There are a number of factors that go into making a blog great:<br /><ul><li>Content</li><li>Personality</li><li>Engagement with the community</li><li>Interaction points</li><li>Design</li></ul>Before getting into all of this, the creation of the blog has to take place. The vast majority of people create their blogs on platforms that center around blogs, which include Blogger, Word Press, TypePad and others. Other people create their blogs on platforms that may not necessarily be 100% blog-centric, like Weebly or Wix. Still others, who are more experienced will code their blogs from scratch and use a separate hosting service.<br /><br />Since this blog is hosted on Google's Blogger platform, as are millions of others, I will be talking about some of my favorite Blogger templates, widgets and plug-ins.<br /><br />Google offers some basic templates for a blog upon its creation. These are standard templates that can get the job done, but can easily be replaced if you are looking for something a little more unique or aesthetically pleasing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/S5Q4TAt32WI/AAAAAAAAAQk/u_Rc75bKrFo/s1600-h/blogger+templates.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 205px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/S5Q4TAt32WI/AAAAAAAAAQk/u_Rc75bKrFo/s320/blogger+templates.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446039748658846050" border="0" /></a>There are a number of fantastic resources out there that have pre-made Blogger templates and directions in how to apply them to your blog:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://btemplates.com/">BTemplates</a></li><li><a href="http://www.bloggertemplatesblog.com/">Blogger Templates Blog</a></li><li><a href="http://www.deluxetemplates.net/">Deluxe Templates</a></li><li><a href="http://www.blogcrowds.com/resources/blogger-templates/">Blog Crowds</a></li></ul>To help narrow down the the amount of templates you will be browsing through, you should first think about how many columns you would like on your blog. The post section of the blog counts as one column, each column after that is a side bar. Having only two columns will give you more room for larger widgets in the sidebar and potentially a cleaner look, but if you want to incorporate a number of widgets it means that most will be below the scroll. Three and four column widgets allow for more widgets to be above the scroll, but can limit the width of any widget you would want to include. You will have to weigh these factors and others when deciding what layout you want.<br /><br />Keep in mind that you can try a template out and if you don't like it after uploading the code to your blog can always change to another.<br /><br />The conversation about columns brings us to widgets, gadgets and plug-ins. Blogger offers some standard widgets that can be applied to your blog with a single click. These might include:<br /><ul><li>Post archive</li><li>Tags/Labels</li><li>Basic Text</li><li>HTML box</li><li>Slideshow</li><li>RSS feed</li><li>Followers<br /></li></ul>These are all very important to the success of a blog, but you should look beyond the Blogger offerings to find other extremely helpful options. Maybe you want a tag cloud instead of a list, or a video slide show, or box displaying your LinkedIn updates, or a stream of headlines from the New York Times. Without question, you should add "share" icons to your blog so readers can proliferate the posts on their social networks, as well as through e-mail and bookmarking tools.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S5T74mRy-KI/AAAAAAAAAo4/sGgK_ClCXUc/s1600-h/share+icons.bmp"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 125px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S5T74mRy-KI/AAAAAAAAAo4/sGgK_ClCXUc/s320/share+icons.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446254799164209314" border="0" /></a><br />Again, there are great sites and posts dedicated to showing you the best widgets and plug-ins for your blog:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://widgetsforfree.blogspot.com/2009/10/20-useful-blogger-widgets-and-hacks.html">Widgets for free</a></li><li><a href="http://mashable.com/2009/01/26/blogger-widgets/">Mashable's 25 Best</a></li><li><a href="http://www.bashbosh.com/best-ten-blogspot-widgets-addons/">BanBosh</a></li><li><a href="http://www.mintblogger.com/2009/01/30-blogger-widgets-and-plugins.html">Mint Blogger</a></li><li><a href="http://tips-box.blogspot.com/2009/05/top-15-blogger-add-ons-tools-and.html">Tips Box</a><br /></li></ul>Hopefully this will help provide some links to resources that can help you create or improve your blog. If you're having trouble installing a theme, widget, plug-in or anything else just shoot me a note and I'll see if I can help. I know there is a tremendous amount more we could talk about with regards to improving a blog so if you have notes that you would like to share with everybody please leave a comment.Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-60799892398950165152010-02-24T08:07:00.003-05:002010-02-24T08:26:28.854-05:00The Importance of Social Media Club<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.socialmediaclub.org/"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 329px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S4Uo0g_4_hI/AAAAAAAAAn4/MNGnqG2kYX4/s400/social_media_club_logo_tag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441800607423331858" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://www.socialmediaclub.org/">Social Media Club (SMC)</a> is a rapidly growing group that brings together professionals of all shapes, sizes and industries. SMC has organized chapters in over 150 cities around the world made up of thousands upon thousands of individuals, as indicated by their <a href="http://twitter.com/SocialMediaClub">Twitter following of over 62,000. </a></div><div> </div><br /><div>When probing through reasons why SMC was created, I came upon the following language that really struck me:</div><div> </div><br /><div><em>"We are more than just USERS, we are the reason the tools exist – we are the people who communicate our thoughts and ideas near and far. Join us and let’s shape the future together!"</em></div><div> </div><br /><div>SMC isn't simply about networking, though that is a big aspect. The group is about shaping the future of communication, getting thought leaders together to think of the next wave of inspiration and connecting the dots for all those that primarily operate on a multitude of platforms. </div><br /><div> </div>For me, the best thing about Social Media Club is that it allows me to put a face to a name, blog, page, account or whatever else people are using. Social media communications are a fantastic way of forging new relationships and stregthening existing ones, but its hard to break through to a truly meaningful relationship without meeting somebody in person. Social Media Clubs have made that face-to-face interaction a little bit easier by organizing regular events and turning it into group interactions rather than that awkward first encounter alone as if you were on a blind date.<br /><div> </div><br /><div>I'm a member of the Charlotte, NC social media club, but I know that I can join in on any meetup in another city should I be in town while an event is being held. Its a great virtual and real community that will continue to grow as social media does. </div><br /><div> </div>I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that appreciates Social Media Club for what it offers. Anybody care to share?Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-72544113013728670152010-02-21T06:39:00.006-05:002010-02-22T08:12:07.248-05:00Don't Forget About BlogsWith the meteoric rise of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, many corporate communications professionals tend to forget about the power of a blog. Blogging started well before Facebook and Twitter were present in the social media landscape so they aren't as flashy or fun these days. Blogs and even blog networks are more dispersed so the traffic numbers don't seem as impressive as social networks.<br /><br />Facebook can publicly state that it has over 400 million users worldwide and Twitter can claim over 75 million users, but blogs typically define their traffic individually. <a href="http://gizmodo.com/">Gizmodo</a>, a very popular technology and gadget blog can very impressively make the case that they had <a href="http://siteanalytics.compete.com/gizmodo.com/">1,981,394 unique visitors last month</a>. Though this is amazingly impressive, some markets don't grasp the importance of this number compared to the 400 million total users on Facebook.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S4KBxGW8g1I/AAAAAAAAAm4/eFWHYazVGsY/s1600-h/gizmodo.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 151px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S4KBxGW8g1I/AAAAAAAAAm4/eFWHYazVGsY/s400/gizmodo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441053980337406802" border="0" /></a><br />A blog offers a concentrated, focused audience. Outreach performed to a blog, or the creation of a blog, can be much more effective than creating a Facebook fan page or Twitter account. A blog has more potential to become a conversation hub, a lasting community and a trusted source than social networking platforms. Blogs allow for more in-depth content because there is greater freedom to write lengthy posts or post a variety of content (text, video, slideshows, streaming video, live blogging plug-ins).<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, there is immense value in social networks, especially when done well. I just want to make sure that blogs are forgotten in the equation because they may be a brands best option to meet their communications goals.<br /><br />I know I can think of examples in my professional life where I have suggested a blog to a client, but it was shot down because it didn't have the "potential growth" that Facebook offered.<br /><br />Do any of you have any examples of blogs being passed over or dismissed as a viable option?Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-80525870309088426512010-02-16T15:34:00.005-05:002010-02-17T08:32:40.319-05:00Make Your Facebook Fan Page Stand OutWhy would a brand or business create a facebook fan page? Most likely they are trying to increase awareness about the brand as a whole or a specific initiative. They may also want to improve brand loyalty and engagement with their target audience. Those are all good reasons to create a fan page, but having a good reason won't actually accomplish those goals.<br /><br />Brands have to promote their fan pages across a number of platforms to even alert their target audience that the page exists. They also have to provide value or entertainment to the visitors so they continue to come back. It is this latter area where the brand should really work to make its page stand out from the plethora of other brands using a cookie cutter design and content formula for their fan pages.<br /><br />A brand can either make their page stand out through the content they provide or the design/layout of the page. Each brand will know better than I will what qualifies as unique or valuable to their audience, so I won't even attempt to assert some universal answer that can be applied across all industries and goals.<br /><br />There are a number of ways to enhance the design of a fan page. A brand shouldn't feel as though they are restricted to the use of fan page standards like a wall, photo sharing tab, video sharing tab, links tab and discussion board. Those are all great features, but brands should go to the next level.<br /><br />One of the most important features a Facebook fan page offers is "FBML." This is Facebook's version of HTML language and allows users to add components that they might find on other platforms. The FBML feature gives users the freedom to add widgets of all varieties, links and a number of other things. Instead of simply adding links to other relevant pages in the FBML box, it might be nice to add hyperlinked photos using FBML tags so there is a visual association with the link that entices visitors to click through.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S3vu2r3ZiuI/AAAAAAAAAmM/rKweDD7u760/s1600-h/Facebook+-+Edit+FBML.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 172px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S3vu2r3ZiuI/AAAAAAAAAmM/rKweDD7u760/s320/Facebook+-+Edit+FBML.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439203598235437794" border="0" /></a><br />There are also a number of previously developed applications that can simply be plugged into a fan page. Brands shouldn't be afraid to browse through these and see if any will help them accomplish their goals while bringing some variety to their fan page.<br /><br />There are some great <a href="http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Main_Page">Facebook developers and resources</a> out there so if a brand is looking to create a page that is awe-inspiring it can definitely be done.Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-52606942415064121342010-02-11T18:28:00.006-05:002010-02-12T07:30:46.621-05:00Making Changes and Moving OnToday is my last day at Sports Media Challenge (SMC). I've had an amazing time serving as the Director of New Media at SMC. I've been with the company for over 2.5 years and couldn't think of a better place to be in that time. The SMC team is talented and intelligent. They're a nimble group that can put together some of the best digital media campaigns I've seen.<br /><br />I can't say enough about the quality of people I have worked with while at SMC. If you have any interest, they are absolutely worth following on Twitter:<br /><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/kathleenhessert">@kathleenhessert</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/ryanstephens">@ryanstephens</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/brittanylane">@brittanylane</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/matthewgarner">@matthewgarner</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/jackieadkins">@jackieadkins</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/mhannahp">@mhannahp</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/lindahutch">@lindahutch</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/janeweddington">@janeweddington</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/bdoughty">@bdoughty</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://twitpic.com/6olxm"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/S3SYQ5VySFI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/ck2V5qkRRwA/s320/11225866.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437138066180556882" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Within my time at SMC I've worked to build out service offerings, bring Buzz Manager (a great online monitoring tool) to a new level and put together full scale digital media plans for fantastic clients. I'd like to think I left a positive impact on SMC and the work I've done can be continued.<br /><br />Though my experience at SMC has been nothing but positive, I've been offered a great opportunity to continue my digital media work with Fleishman-Hillard. I will be working in the Carolina offices and am really excited to get started. Fleishman-Hillard has an amazing reputation for the work they do and the talent they have. I can't wait for the new challenge.Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-19929469637159236042010-02-08T07:36:00.005-05:002010-02-08T07:54:01.228-05:00The Saints Win the Super Bowl: Will Brands Capitalize Through Social Media?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S3AIx8rQcYI/AAAAAAAAAmE/h11jRv50otc/s1600-h/wheaties.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S3AIx8rQcYI/AAAAAAAAAmE/h11jRv50otc/s400/wheaties.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435854404430360962" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The New Orleans Saints just won Super Bowl <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">XLIV</span>. They beat the Indianapolis Colts in dramatic, yet dominant fashion. Drew <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Brees</span> will ultimately be immortalized in the city of New Orleans as the first QB to play in and win a Super Bowl for the team, doing it only several years after the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">devastation</span> of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Hurricane</span> Katrina. </div><br /><div> </div>Jonathan Vilma, the defensive captain and middle linebacker for the Saints, will also be remembered as a folk hero because of his role as a leader both on the field and in the Haiti relief effort.<br /><div> </div><br />The story lines are great and continue well beyond these two players. Now the question is how will brands capitalize on the great stories and immense popularity of this year's Super Bowl winners. Sports Illustrated will inevitably do a special <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">commemorative</span> edition with matching championship hat, Disney will ask Drew <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Brees</span> to visit one of its <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">amusement</span> parks and Wheaties will seek out at least one or maybe all of the Saints to be pictured on a new box of their cereal.<br /><div> </div><br /><div>We've now seen brands use social media for their Super Bowl commercial spots, but will we see social media be used in these post victory promotions? Should we expect to see live streaming video of Drew <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Brees</span> taking his son to Disney World? Will be get to see a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Flickr</span> photo album of Reggie Bush posing for the new Wheaties box? Will Sports Illustrated offer a discounted rate for their <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">commemorative</span> edition to their Twitter followers?</div><br /><div> </div>I tend to think we're not quite there yet, but we're getting close. This year saw more advertisers leaking their commercials on YouTube than ever before, more social media communications about the brands participating than ever before and more attention being paid to that online conversation than ever before.Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-52884441831662012242010-02-01T19:14:00.017-05:002010-02-02T07:42:22.066-05:00Getting a job with social media is about relationships, not content<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S2gdm8Ddq_I/AAAAAAAAAl8/IAJFzRpdydA/s1600-h/building+relationships.bmp"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 211px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S2gdm8Ddq_I/AAAAAAAAAl8/IAJFzRpdydA/s400/building+relationships.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433625505215392754" border="0" /></a><br />One of my primary points on this blog and to clients is that relationship building should be a primary tenant while entering into and building out social media communications. Social media and the tools used to operate in the landscape are a means to building relationships, but that is often forgotten.<br /><br />Social media presents a platform to build relationships with clients, consumers, influencers, competitors, recruits and more. The preamble to developing relationships is content. The content has to draw people in, but ultimately content won't deliver on new business or new partnerships.<br /><br />There is a common phrase in the communications world, "content is king." I respectfully disagree with that adage no matter how entrenched it is in our industries mindset. Content is clearly important, but relationships are much more important. The time it takes to produce an abundance of content can be better spent developing meaningful relationships with people attracted to slightly more sparse content.<br /><br />I know this to be true with brands and businesses, but it might be even more true when marketing oneself on the job market. Content alone may initially attract a would be employer, but he or she won't stick around long if their isn't a line of communication opened and harvested. Experts say that over 75% of jobs are filled when the employer has a personal connection of some kind to the applicant. Social media can be your tool to developing that personal connection, but content won't do it for you. A relationship has to be built in order for you to leave a lasting, meaningful impression on a person.<br /><br />This means you have to cultivate conversations, reply to comments on a post, respond to @replies on Twitter, send a message back to people on LinkedIn or whatever other platform you use.<br /><br />In the ever-growing world of social media, the way to get noticed will increasingly be going above and beyond in building relationships. It will be an exception to the rule when a person is noticed and benefits greatly just from their content.Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-6953816599998926922010-01-31T20:35:00.009-05:002010-02-01T08:32:16.331-05:00Are digital technologies changing how our kids learn?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S2bXxhUn9gI/AAAAAAAAAl0/aHPeNvdVGxs/s1600-h/204670_2223.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 362px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S2bXxhUn9gI/AAAAAAAAAl0/aHPeNvdVGxs/s400/204670_2223.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433267246227518978" border="0" /></a><br />I recently had a conversation with an English professor about the advent of new technology changing the way kids are learning basic skills. Her example was actually quite telling.<br /><br />She talked to a mother in her community that is a very active, engaged parent. The mother explained to the English professor that her daughter, who was six-years-old, decided she no longer wanted to read books. The child was a very good reader, but only wanted to read books at or below her first grade reading level. She did not want to push beyond that level and begin reading more difficult material. The mother said the child became would only show any excitement about reading when the mother would read to her. Aside from that, the child could care less about reading.<br /><br />The English professor asked the mother if she or her husband read books on their own, regardless of whether it was reading to their child or not. It turned out that the mother and father didn't read books for their own enjoyment. The mother would read news online and the father would read books through a Kindle. The English Professor had an interesting and highly plausible theory that if the parents read books themselves, the child would likely be more excited to read books as a result.<br /><br />The English professor was drawing on the basic tenants of modeling. Children learn behaviors by observing and consequently modeling the people around them. In other words, "monkey see monkey do."<br /><br />One question that arises from this example is whether we as a society think it is important for children to learn the way we did, by reading books and doing math by hand, or if we are comfortable adopting new teaching methods.<br /><br />If we aren't comfortable adapting our teaching methods, should we be more conscious of our own behaviors around our children? Does our use of these digital technologies need to be minimized when teaching our children?Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-51472980488443035392010-01-21T09:31:00.013-05:002010-01-25T08:35:05.483-05:00A Love Poem To My Google Reader<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S12doUVFqpI/AAAAAAAAAls/7MAtyNs44_4/s1600-h/google+reader.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S12doUVFqpI/AAAAAAAAAls/7MAtyNs44_4/s400/google+reader.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430670041656175250" border="0" /></a><br /><div>With Valentines Day right around the corner, I thought I would get into the spirit. I sat down to think about the things I love the most with respect to social media, and sure enough Google Reader popped into my head. With that said, here is a love poem to my Google Reader:<br /><br /><br />Google Reader, Google Reader you begin my work day<br /></div><br /><div>You inform me, guide me and keep me in tune in every single way.</div><br /><div>I can keep adding to you and you never get upset,<br /><br />You send me to dozens of sites without breaking a sweat.<br /><br />With you, it's not just listening and reading,<br /><br />I can use your trends, notes and recommendations in a meeting.<br /><br />Sure there are other readers out there,<br /><br />But none come close to your ease or care.<br /><br />I feel like you know me in every single way,<br /><br />How else would you always know what to say?<br /><br />Some might argue that I've created the list, so I shouldn't credit you,<br /><br />But to them I say "My Google Readers thinks, loves, and feels too."<br /><br />So just to summarize, I'll be loyal to you because you're the best,<br /><br />But if a superior tool comes by I'll probably switch, just being honest.<br /><br />Lets face it, you're great and helpful but really just a tool.<br /><br />I'm always going to go with what helps me most because I ain't nobody's fool.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div> </div><br /><div> </div>Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-80164381630799044242010-01-19T04:48:00.002-05:002010-01-19T11:19:53.606-05:00The Seven Best Social Media Blogs Going Into 2010There are number of very good blogs across the blogosphere that discuss social media in a variety of ways. The following seven blogs have done a particularly good job of talking about the ins and outs of social media throughout the last year and have brought real, unique insight to their readers. I expect big things out of these bloggers over the next year.<br /><br /><a href="http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/">The Brand Builder Blog</a><br /><br />The Brand Builder Blog is an amazing resource for marketers, especially if looking into ROI and how it relates to social media. Olivier Blanchard, the voice behind The Brand Build Blog is a leader in the conversation about ROI, which becomes immediately obvious after reading one of his posts or watching one of his videos. What I really enjoy about Olivier is that he isn't afraid to call out the snake oil marketers who call themselves "social media gurus" and offer misguided notions of ROI.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 107px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/S1NlN5bS-4I/AAAAAAAAAP4/Yvgf2qLtPYs/s320/Brand+builder+blog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427793265339595650" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/">Social Media Explorer</a><br /><br />Jason Falls writes Social Media Explorer and does a great job of educating his readers about the newest trends in social media. Jason is always in the know when it comes to the important social media technologies and the important figures across the industry. The best part of Social Media Explorer is that when a reader comments on a post he/she is more than likely going to get a response from Jason. He truly embraces the social aspect of social media and makes sure his readers get his attention.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 62px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S1V_lfRNhuI/AAAAAAAAAlk/xDyBNgKt16A/s320/social+media+explorer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428385207890577122" border="0" /></a><a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/">Logic + Emotion</a><br /><br />This is a blog that had tremendous insight into the social media landscape. Logic + Emotion is David Armano's personal blog. David is a great teacher and incorporates some of the better social media visuals you can find. My favorite part of the blog is David's willingness to share his personal story and business evolution. Over the last few months, readers have been taken through the journey from Dachis Group to Edelman, but all while learning about social media.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 54px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/S1Np5q9bUNI/AAAAAAAAAQA/fQEORQSpJbU/s320/logic+and+emotion.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427798415416971474" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/">Marketing Pilgrim</a><br /><br />Though not all posts are about social media, many of the posts at Marketing Pilgrim either focus on or have elements of social media. The stories often stretch beyond to all internet marketing and advertising. The market insights and trends that are discussed on Marketing Pilgrim are unparalleled. I can always count on them to keep me informed of the demographic information for various platforms.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 37px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/S1NsBum6hDI/AAAAAAAAAQI/sGosfk9PIcQ/s320/marketing+pilgrim.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427800752858498098" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.briansolis.com/">PR 2.0</a><br /><br />Brian Solis, the voice of PR 2.0 and principle at FutureWorks does an amazing job at providing readers with real wisdom about the social media landscape and how it applies to marketing or PR. Its clear after reading one of Brian's posts that he has amazingly experience and knowledge of the industry. He can speak about small business, large brands, b2b, b2c and much more. The best part about the blog is its willingness to predict the future trends of social media. Brian isn't afraid to go out on a limb and state what he believes is the wave of the future.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.briansolis.com/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 41px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S1T6Jd2D-7I/AAAAAAAAAlM/N7lyZtkzGVc/s320/Brian+Solis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428238491425438642" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.instigatorblog.com/">Instigator Blog</a><br /><br />You'll find more than just discussion about social media at the Instigator Blog. Ben Yoskovitz talks about start-ups, general business and of coarse social media. He is always on top of the newest technologies and practices.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.instigatorblog.com/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 50px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S1T8b-ziICI/AAAAAAAAAlU/Rtd1c7Mc2uM/s320/instigator+blog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428241008534102050" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.britopian.com/">Britopian</a><br /><br />Michael Brito is one of the more experience social media professionals out there. He has an impressive resume and brings that experience to his posting. What I enjoy most about Britopian is the ability to not only discuss social media technologies, but the culture of social media and digital marketing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S1T-QMiiHMI/AAAAAAAAAlc/xdHEeYab7ag/s1600-h/britopian.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 70px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S1T-QMiiHMI/AAAAAAAAAlc/xdHEeYab7ag/s320/britopian.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428243005085719746" border="0" /></a>Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-3955113877663532322010-01-18T07:36:00.005-05:002010-01-18T08:10:05.900-05:00How did Twitter grow so quickly?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S1Rc3joi-XI/AAAAAAAAAlE/hZkMh7TCIpE/s1600-h/twitter-logo-bird.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 367px; height: 367px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S1Rc3joi-XI/AAAAAAAAAlE/hZkMh7TCIpE/s400/twitter-logo-bird.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428065560416156018" border="0" /></a>Twitter has been on a meteoric rise since it's public inception in 2006. The minds behind Twitter, Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Biz Stone, created a social media product that capitalized on the growing world of quick conversations and link sharing across the web. <div> </div><br /><div>From February 2008 to February 2009 <a href="http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/twitters-tweet-smell-of-success/">Twitter grew 1382% according to Nielsen</a>. Tech Crunch then reported that Twitter returned <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/26/twitter-finds-growth-abroad-with-58-4-million-global-visitors-in-september/">58.4 million visitors in September, 2009</a>, many of which came from abroad.<br /><br />Twitter successfully incorporated components of other growing social media tools, like social networking from Facebook and link sharing from Digg. Maybe most importantly was Twitter's ability to easily operate the social tool though mobile devices. The mobile nature of Twitter caught on quickly, with multiple mobile applications being created for users on different networks and with different types of phones. Though the tool itself was exciting and new, Twitter didn't take off until celebrities moved onto the platform. </div><div> </div><br /><div>With the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Shaquille O'Neal and of coarse Barack Obama, Twitter shot into the mainstream of America. CNN and Ashton Kutcher even had a race to see which account could procure one million followers first. Twitter has been integrated into other media platforms, even making its way into full-length segments on the late night television shows of Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien.<br /><br />It was estimated that over <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/163456/measuring_the_oprah_effect_on_twitter.html">half a million new user accounts were created in the two days following Oprah's announcement</a> that she was joining the micro-blogging platform. This was an increase from the 5,000-10,000 new account created every day prior to that.<br /><br />There is no question that Twitter created a fantastic tool that appeals to the current culture of communications, but I sincerely doubt it would be as popular as it is today in such a short period had it not been for celebrity involvement.<br /><br /><br /></div>Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-73652342473285902922010-01-12T13:36:00.007-05:002010-01-12T21:52:28.436-05:00Social Media in an Impoverished Mexican TownI just returned from a vacation in a Akumal, Mexico. Akumal is a small town about one hour south of Cancun that survives almost entirely on eco-tourism. It is a place of great scenic beauty, but tremendous societal shortcomings. The picturesque beaches, caves, rain forests and tropical fish can be overshadowed at times by the meager shacks, lack of sanitary water and high frequency of crime. This was most noticeable on the only main road between Akumal and Cancun. It was on this road that I passed one tourist destination after another all behind great walls that mirror the magnitude of Fenway's "Green Monster" and are designed to keep out the "dangerous locals." Tourists are reminded that there is danger by the teams of security guards armed with semi-automatic machine guns.<br /><br /><div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S00F8ACdxoI/AAAAAAAAAk8/AmDtlUbfoIQ/s1600-h/P1100278.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S00F8ACdxoI/AAAAAAAAAk8/AmDtlUbfoIQ/s400/P1100278.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425999654411945602" border="0" /></a>Maybe it was because I was re-reading "<em>Groundswell</em>" or maybe it was because I was curious about the digital capacity of a place that had such a sharp contrast bewteen beauty and squalor, but I asked some of the locals about their use of social media. I wasn't surprised to hear that social media is not a commonly used technology in Akumal. When I said the word "Facebook" to a group of four guys it was returned with two confused looks, one indifferent response and one "oooh Facebook, ci." I inquired what that meant and found out that the lone guy in the group that knew Facebook wasn't a member, but had seen adds where brands communicated that they were on the social media platform. They were more concerned about buying their groceries, fixing their palm roofs or paying for a new bicycle tire (their primary method of transporation) than the computer or mobile technological devices it would take to operate social media. There also wasn't much need to connect with the outside world. In Akumal, most communications happen face-to-face and there isn't much need to communicate with people that you wouldn't see in person.<br /></div><div> </div><br /><div>This isn't a grand revelation, nor will it affect marketers in any way. Brands aren't marketing their products to people that can't afford them. This revelation did give me pause to ask "why am I so wrapped up in a technology that only a small percentage of the world can truly use the way it is meant to be used?" Sometimes, in the world of business we move so quickly that we don't stop to think about the big picture. I think it is important to put some perspective in what we do and think about if the people in a place like Akumal, Mexico care about the tasks we devote 50 plus hours a week to. </div>Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-33506697111059759692010-01-05T18:31:00.006-05:002010-01-06T07:42:27.052-05:00Social Media Wallflowers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0SFHYmArgI/AAAAAAAAAks/-eq02N7DAZ0/s1600-h/wallflowers_5_16bw.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0SFHYmArgI/AAAAAAAAAks/-eq02N7DAZ0/s400/wallflowers_5_16bw.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423606213168377346" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wallflower">Dictionary.com</a> has the following definitions for "wallflower:"<br /><blockquote>1. a person who, because of shyness, unpopularity, or lack of a partner, remains at the side at a party or dance.<br /><br />2. any person, organization, etc., that remains on or has been forced to the sidelines of any activity: <span class="ital-inline">The firm was a wallflower in this year's bidding for government contracts.</span></blockquote>We've all seen a wallflower at a party who's just a little too shy to interact with other people. They eventually muster up the courage to talk to somebody, they are approached by an individual who rescues them or they eventually leave the party while having had zero interactions.<br /><br />Do wallflowers exist in the social media world, either individuals or brands? Can a social media wallflower survive?<br /><br />In my experience, wallflowers absolutely exist in social media. I have seen a number of individuals on various platforms that produce their own content and want to become a prominent member of a community, but don't know how to begin. They wonder who they should talk to, how they should approach them, what language they should use. Those questions and many more keep people from reaching out and joining the party.<br /><br />It is also my experience that individuals become social media wallflowers by almost by accident, while many brands are wallflowers by their own volition. Many brands decide it is better for their communication strategy to simply listen to online conversation about them, but not partake in any way.<br /><br />Do you have any stories about social media wallflowers, either individuals or brands?Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-66019699332096635862010-01-05T07:48:00.003-05:002010-01-05T08:06:37.810-05:00How to evaluate a blogBeing able to evaluate the influence and reach of a blog is an important skill for a communications professional. It is beneficial to know the possible affect of a blog publishing a mention about a brand, sharing a promotion or how many people can legitimately be reached through advertising on that blog.<br /><br />Evaluating a blog can be broken down to three primary areas:<br /><ul><li>Traffic/Reach</li><li>Community Culture</li><li>Content</li></ul><strong>Traffic/Reach</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />The traffic and potential reach for a blog centers around metrics of unique visitors, visits and page views. Some blogs make this very easy by coding in a public site meter of some sort. Gathering metrics for blogs that don’t have this is a little bit more difficult, but there are tools than can give a fairly accurate estimate.<br /><br />Site meter or stat counter icons on a blog will usually be in a side bar or bottom task bar and will look like this:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/S0M1gClVzdI/AAAAAAAAAPo/_ladNWyR8lk/s1600-h/Sitemeter1.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423237200849784274" style="width: 82px; height: 18px;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/S0M1gClVzdI/AAAAAAAAAPo/_ladNWyR8lk/s320/Sitemeter1.bmp" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0M4Ss6eIOI/AAAAAAAAAkE/KNlYifZLkpI/s1600-h/Sitemeter2.bmp"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 66px; height: 28px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0M4Ss6eIOI/AAAAAAAAAkE/KNlYifZLkpI/s320/Sitemeter2.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423240270229414114" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0M4WzpRjVI/AAAAAAAAAkM/WxG0hDDB4Ao/s1600-h/stat+counter.bmp"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 70px; height: 27px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0M4WzpRjVI/AAAAAAAAAkM/WxG0hDDB4Ao/s320/stat+counter.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423240340755811666" border="0" /></a><br /><br />They offer all the cursory information needed, as well as the ability to dive deeper into who is visiting the blog. Site meter allows for analysis of visitors by:<br /><ul><li>geographic location</li><li>specific IP address</li><li>referring URLs</li><li>entry pages</li><li>out-clicks</li></ul><p>If a blog doesn’t have a site meter of some kind, universal tracking tools will need to be employed to estimate traffic and reach:</p><p><em><a href="http://www.alexa.com/">Alexa Ranking:</a></em></p><p>The Alexa Ranking is derived from the millions upon millions of people using a toolbar with an Alexa component. Alexa tracks which sites these people visit and produces a ranking of all websites. This is one of the only universal ranking systems for sites. It is important to note that the lower the Alexa ranking the better. #1 would be the absolute best Alexa ranking.</p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0M43DgmZrI/AAAAAAAAAkc/txfNLqt-UMA/s1600-h/alexa.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 195px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0M43DgmZrI/AAAAAAAAAkc/txfNLqt-UMA/s320/alexa.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423240894770210482" border="0" /></a></p><p><em><a href="http://www.compete.com/">Compete</a>:</em></p><p>Compete uses a panel of over 2 million people across the United States. They combine internet activity and survey responses from the population used in their data. The population is comprised of a cross-section of Americans that represent the greatest variety of people possible. Compete uses this group to estimate site traffic using methodology that normalizes for lurking variables. Most sites, but not all register with Compete. If a site doesn’t register it simply means that it is not statistically relevant enough and therefore probably doesn’t generate a significant amount of traffic.<br /></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0M5E2hvLKI/AAAAAAAAAkk/QCso48vsshA/s1600-h/compete.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 161px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0M5E2hvLKI/AAAAAAAAAkk/QCso48vsshA/s320/compete.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423241131803487394" border="0" /></a></p><p>You can measure domains without creating an account, but in order to measure subdomains like xxxxx.blogspot.com, you will have to create a user name and password. Compete provides metrics for unique visitors, visits, an overall ranking and a graph that charts visitors by month.</p><p><strong>Community Culture</strong></p><p>Engagement numbers are integral to understanding community culture. In most industries, it is these numbers that are the true indicators of the power of a blog to influence its readers. Tools like <a href="https://analytics.postrank.com/tour/55a39de3f41735985d5705b90480eab3">Post Rank</a> can show the number of engagement points for a site, including number of comments, number of times a link is shared on a social bookmarking site and link sharing on Twitter. This is a great tool to demonstrate the engagement on a blog’s community, but not all blogs register.</p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0M4lG53JnI/AAAAAAAAAkU/C9hnJiOpOeM/s1600-h/stat+counter.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/S0M4lG53JnI/AAAAAAAAAkU/C9hnJiOpOeM/s320/stat+counter.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423240586443826802" border="0" /></a></p><p>If the blog you are interested in measuring doesn’t register with Post Rank, you will have to collect this information manually. It is easy to gain an understanding of the average number of comments per post by averaging the number of comments per post for the last 10-20 posts, but be sure to look at the comment section to weed out comments by the blogger. In many cases you will find the blogger is actually the most active commenter and including their comments will skew the engagement numbers. </p><p>You can search a domain name or subdomain name within each social bookmarking site’s search box. The most pertinent social bookmarking sites include:</p><ul><li><a href="http://digg.com/">Digg</a></li><li><a href="http://delicious.com/">Delicious</a></li><li><a href="http://www.reddit.com/">Reddit</a></li></ul><p><strong>Content</strong></p><p>Evaluating content is completely subjective. You will need to review the content based on your own criteria and goals. It is important to align yourself with blogs that publish content you would be willing to share and direct people towards, since you will likely link share with them on a semi-regular basis.</p>Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-80601041073425122672010-01-04T11:30:00.001-05:002010-01-04T11:31:09.930-05:00Social Media Adoption in B2B CompaniesI just published a post on one of my company blogs about the adoption of social media by B2B companies. Feel free to check it out over at the <a href="http://buzzmanagerblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/social-media-adoption-in-b2b-companies.html">Buzz Manager Blog</a>.Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-31324657769621559642010-01-03T07:50:00.007-05:002010-01-04T07:38:40.490-05:00Social media influence vs. traditional media influence<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/S0CYbL69JsI/AAAAAAAAAPg/fblUiUfIKwY/s1600-h/boytv.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/S0CYbL69JsI/AAAAAAAAAPg/fblUiUfIKwY/s400/boytv.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422501544178034370" border="0" /></a><br />It is widely believed that traditional media--radio, TV, newspapers, magazines--shape our conceptions of reality. The content discussed on news programs, advertisements and opinion articles can all influence our conclusions about society.<br /><br />There have been a number of studies arguing that the media control doesn't necessarily influence our daily decisions, but it does shape our overall perceptions about society and culture. This includes studies by Eibach, Libby and Gilovich in 2003, <a href="http://wikisum.com/w/Iyengar_and_Kinder:_News_that_matters">Iyengar and Kinder</a> in 1987, <a href="http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0140673696907473">Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and Signorelli</a> in 1986 and many more.<br /><br />If you think about it, traditional media can't help but influence our perceptions of reality. Even if every media outlets on all platforms was completely objective they would still influence what people thought about by deciding which stories to discuss and publish.<br /><br />I bring all of this up to make a point. As social media grows, traditional media's influence over people will continue to wain. The public now has a mass platform of communication where they can dictate the content and the direction of opinion. This is no more apparent than it is when you consider that <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/01/01/twitter-influential-topics/">Iran protests were the second most discussed topic by influential Twitter users in 2009. </a><br /><br />We often say social media puts power back into the hands of the consumers, but social media goes beyond the consumer/brand relationship. Social media puts the power of perception and reality into every individual that wants to take the time to evaluate it.Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-24237176161840386582009-12-31T07:56:00.005-05:002009-12-31T08:06:15.687-05:00Happy New Year!<br /><br /><div>Happy new year everybody! It has been a great decade all around and especially for the growth of social media. We've seen blogs grow exponentially, social networks come into their own, online video and photo sharing sites explode, mobile technology being invented and much, much more. </div><br /><div> </div>Have a great time tonight, but beware those texting hands. Try not to use Twitter or Facebook unless you are of sound mind. There are always great examples of what not to do while drinking on <a href="http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/">textsfromlastnight.com</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/Szyhh_a2ItI/AAAAAAAAAj8/v5QgSalknwI/s1600-h/1129788_54281539.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/Szyhh_a2ItI/AAAAAAAAAj8/v5QgSalknwI/s400/1129788_54281539.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421385656779023058" border="0" /></a>Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-39235546188861035372009-12-29T18:18:00.006-05:002009-12-30T08:05:43.468-05:00Are people less obedient when using social media?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/SzqV2l8ICgI/AAAAAAAAAPY/sIKgHuSU4w8/s1600-h/milgram-experiment.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420809866623584770" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 267px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/SzqV2l8ICgI/AAAAAAAAAPY/sIKgHuSU4w8/s400/milgram-experiment.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Stanley Milgram conducted a social psychology experiment about obedience to authority. The experiment aptly came to be known as the "Milgram Experiment." It began as in inquiry into conformity, but turned into much more.<br /><br />Milgram wondered what would happen if he had participants administer what they thought was a real electric shock to an actor (confederate) pretending to be shocked and be in excrutiating pain. The actor had to answer questions, when right nothing would happen, but when wrong he would be shocked. With each wrong answer the shock would get worse. The participants started by delivering 15-volt shocks. The fake voltage eventually increased to a maximum of 450 volts.<br /><br />If the participant expressed any reservations about shocking another human being and causing them pain the session was abruptly ended. The actor screamed louder with each new shock, pleaded with the participant to stop and even said he had a heart condition and felt like he was dying.<br /><br />Amazingly enough, 62.5% of participants delivered the maximum shock possible. People felt pressure from the psychologist in the room with them, as well as a sense of duty to their role, to finish the experiment despite causing potentially serious harm to another human being.<br /><br />Would the results be different had participants been responding through social media rather than face-to-face contact?<br /><br />I truly believe that had the participant been deciding to administer a shock or not through social media that percentage of 62.5% would be significantly lower. Social media channels give individuals a stronger sense of authority and less pressure to remain obedient to a situation or role. There is certainly still a sense of groupthink, riot mentality and all the other scary social phenomenons, but people feel more empowered to share their true opinions with the shield of social media.<br /><br />What do you think?Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-7834186692155461452009-12-29T07:55:00.008-05:002009-12-29T09:09:08.528-05:00What it takes to get a job in social media<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/SzoMr0JZKwI/AAAAAAAAAj0/DbTciiprpKg/s1600-h/office-space.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/SzoMr0JZKwI/AAAAAAAAAj0/DbTciiprpKg/s400/office-space.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420659048365763330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>I don't purport to know what every company is looking for in a social media, emerging media or new media expert, but I do know what I am looking for when evaluating resumes that arrive on my desk. </div><br /><div>Obviously knowledge of the tools and platforms is important. Since tools like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Ning, Vimeo, discussion boards, blogs and all the rest will be central to the work, having a base of knowledge makes a candidate much more appealing. In addition, knowing things like how to analyze the analytics of a blog, evaluate the content value for a Facebook fan page, create a Ning group, review keyword conversions and more would set a candidate apart from others who know the very basics of online media.<br /></div><div> </div><br /><div>Even more important to the job than knowledge of the tools is an understanding of people, relationships and market tendencies. There is a real aspect of social sciences to new media that needs to be applied with every decision. Demonstrating a comprehension of market and individual behavior on social media platforms puts a candidate on a pedstal for me. </div><br /><div> </div>In my mind, this understanding of social nature and new media culture is much harder to learn than the functional side of the tools and is therefore more valued.<br /><br />Ultimately, when I'm sifting through resumes and cover letters I'm looking a basic understanding of new media tools, but I'm really looking for experience that tells me that candidate can develop relationships with online influencers, understand what drives a response and predict the outcome of a campaign or specific message.<br /><div> </div><br /><div>There are obviously a number of other factors like adding to the office culture, work habits, ability to communicate effectively, writing skills, analytical mind and more. These are very important variables to finding the right candidate, but the quality of work that can be produced is usually the first thing I think about. </div>Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-55087703719331156002009-11-20T07:43:00.004-05:002009-11-20T07:56:27.655-05:00Twitter's new retweet feature has holes<br /><br />The other day I woke up to find Twitter's new retweet feature attached to my home page. Twitter has unveiled this to make retweeting another user's tweets easier while in their web interface. It also allows you to track who retweets that message going forward.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406167835141822226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 95px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/SwaRAMHFVxI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/ncVYj9F_y5Q/s400/RT.PNG" border="0" /><br />After trying out the feature, I got to talking with <a href="http://twitter.com/ghostlikeswayze/status/5862493186">ghostlikeswayze</a>, a friend on Twitter, about all the issues we saw with Twitter's retweeter. He and I agreed that it takes a real part of being social out of this social media tool. The retweet feature doesn't let you change the original tweet in any way. You can't add your opinions, praise, disagreement or anything else. All you can do is retweet the exact message to spread the word.<br /><br />Twitter is designed to share opinions and thoughts with people who are following you and therefore should be interested in what you have to say. Doesn't the rigid copy and paste of the retweet feature go against this very principle?<br /><br />I'm partial to using <a href="http://tweetdeck.com/beta/">Tweetdeck's</a> retweet feature because you do have the ability to alter the message. I would also prefer copying and pasting certain parts into a message if I am using the Twitter web interface.<br /><br />We decided that if you don't like the new retweet option simply send a message out on Twitter with the hash tag <strong>#RTRevolt</strong>. I know I already have.Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-75828821338950416552009-11-16T21:23:00.007-05:002009-11-17T07:59:41.707-05:00What are Twitter lists and Why Should You Care?<br /><br />Twitter's new feature, which allows for the creation of lists has now been live for about a month. Many Twitter users still don't know what Twitter lists are, how to use them or why they may be important.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What are Twitter lists?</span><br /><br />This feature allows you to group any number of users together into a common list. If you want to connect all the funny people you follow or all your coworkers, you simply create a list. Lists can be either public or private, but the default is public. <a href="http://thenextweb.com/2009/10/16/twitter-lists-work/">TheNextWeb.com</a> provides a great recap of how to actually create a list.<br /><br />Anyone can create one or as many lists as they want, which may turn the feature into more of a circus than an organizational tool at some point.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/SwKbbZHSQ-I/AAAAAAAAAjY/d_BBn7CtB24/s1600/twitter+lists.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/SwKbbZHSQ-I/AAAAAAAAAjY/d_BBn7CtB24/s320/twitter+lists.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405053397698233314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why should you care?</span><br /><br />These lists will enable users to filter the massive number of tweets coming through their stream. The user can follow the lists alone, so they focus on specific people and ignore others.<br /><br />Lists also allow users to promote or tip their hat to other people on Twitter. Creating a list enhances the likelihood that your other followers will see that person if they're interested in the list title.<br /><br />As you probably expected, third party applications have already been created around this new component of Twitter. The most prominent thus far is <a href="http://listorious.com/">Listorious</a>, which points you in the direction of lists that would interest you. Simply type a list name, user name or tag and you will be directed to a list of lists (haha funny right? no? okay).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/SwKbMsN4gGI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/9FbLhCcFnBs/s1600/listorious.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 98px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/SwKbMsN4gGI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/9FbLhCcFnBs/s320/listorious.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405053145128140898" border="0" /></a>Marketers have jumped on the use of lists. They are creating lists to get their companies or clients noticed. The more savvy marketers are even creating lists highlighting their brand's most avid and supportive followers to engender them into the brand even more. This is a great tactic to use while lists are still new, shiny and growing in popularity.<br /><br />Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-2050319127014467242009-11-09T20:02:00.006-05:002009-11-10T09:06:28.720-05:00My wedding is keeping me from social media<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/SvlcO3xIKXI/AAAAAAAAAjI/PQWzxQbvCFE/s1600-h/cell+phone+bride+and+groom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/SvlcO3xIKXI/AAAAAAAAAjI/PQWzxQbvCFE/s320/cell+phone+bride+and+groom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402450638565550450" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I got engaged a couple months ago. I had been dating my then girlfriend for over six years and knew that it was the right time, right place and absolutely right girl. What I didn't fully grasp was how much time and energy planning the wedding would take.<br /><br />With the time it takes to select a band, narrow down catering options, pick invitations and all the other components I have to cut time spent elsewhere. For me it was a difficult, but also simple choice.<br /><br />I wasn't going to be able to cut time from work. Social media growth and brand adoption of social media strategies means more work. I can't cut time with family, dogs and friends because they are simply too important to me. I don't want to cut exercise time because it is important for me to be healthy and I have a marathon scheduled for several weeks from now.<br /><br />This ultimately means that I have to reduce the amount of time I spend with my personal social networks. I spend less time tweeting, on Facebook, writing blog posts, joining in on discussion boards and posting video/photos.<br /><br />It got me thinking what additional things happen in people's lives would keep them from participating in online communities as much as they would like? Are other people willing to sacrifice time spent doing other activities for the sake of social media?<br /><br />Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-874648660636319942009-11-03T13:20:00.006-05:002009-11-03T13:40:40.138-05:00Issues with starting social media in a reluctant company<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/SvB5Ep4nZfI/AAAAAAAAAjA/Nj4mtu3kqow/s1600-h/red_tape_cut.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 318px; height: 270px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/SvB5Ep4nZfI/AAAAAAAAAjA/Nj4mtu3kqow/s400/red_tape_cut.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399949074086979058" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I spoke with a client this morning who is the primary advocate for building a corporate social media presence and the only one with any authority in his department. The conversation about strategy and execution turned into an airing of greivances and frustrations with the corporate infrastructure. <div> </div><br /><div>This client is a true believer in creating a corporate blog or blog network that can promote thought leadership, share white papers, engage potential consumers and really just generate conversation. </div><div> </div><br /><div>There are two primary issues within his company:<br /></div><ul><li>Time constraints</li><br /><li>Executive support</li></ul><p>He wants to include other experts in his company in the blogging process. He would love to see guest posts, comments and proliferation of messaging by his valued team members. Unfortunately, they all claim a lack of time as to why they don't want to contribute in any way. He is having a very difficult time convincing them that social media is beneficial for the promotion of the company services, as well as the individual's expertise. These people want immediate rewards, which he can't deliver yet because there isn't enough traffic.</p><p>The other issue is a lack of executive support. This client thinks that the experts would be more likely to participate if the other executives pushed them to do so and were vocal about the value of social media.</p><p>These are both real issues that people face while trying to start a social media endeavor in a company that has been otherwise reluctant to undetake one. Often times a truly compelling argument isn't enough because people want immediate dividends. Unfortunately if you are out alone on a limb, you may have to stay there until you can deliver the slightest of measuable, positive results. Don't give up on the compelling argument idea though. There are great case studies and results out there for all industries so look for proof of concept before taking on a company.</p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p>Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-8680210586736151982009-10-20T15:59:00.008-04:002009-10-21T07:50:37.156-04:00Breaking Down Technorati's 'State of the Blogosphere'<br /><br />This year Technorati has rolled out their <a href="http://technorati.com/state-of-the-blogosphere/">"State of the Blogosphere"</a> in a five-part series. They'll be posting one part every day throughout this week. Thus far, they have posted <a href="http://technorati.com/blogging/article/day-1-who-are-the-bloggers1/">"Who Are the Bloggers?"</a> and <a href="http://technorati.com/blogging/article/day-2-the-what-and-why2/">"The What and Why of Blogging."</a><p>These two parts alone have a host of information to digest, critically analyze and apply to your social media knowledge. In an effort to highlight the most important stuff, I'll be breaking down the info and asking a few questions along the way.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Methodology:</span><br /><br />Technorati collected data from Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates who conducted a survey of 2,828 bloggers nationwide. They also gathered data from 11,000 active Lijit publishers (bloggers using the Lijit search widget) and 2.5 million blogs connected by link to these Ligit bloggers. This data collection method is somewhat biased because it takes a certain type of blogger to decide to download a Lijit widget. It becomes immediately less likely that casual bloggers or bloggers who see no value in Lijit can contribute their input to the survey. The correction for this of adding blogs who are linked to Lijit users helps a fair amount but still isn't an entirely valid and random representation of the blogoshpere.<br /><br />Realisticially, it would be an enormous undertaking to get a representative and random sampling of blogs so I can't complain too much about their choice of blogs.<br /></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Major Points:</span><br /><br />1. The state of the blogosphere is strong</p><p>2. There are 4 types of bloggers<br /></p><ul><li>Hobbyists: 72%- This group blogs for fun and don't make any money from blogging</li><li>Part-Timers: 15%- They blog to supplement their income, but don't use blogging as a full-time job</li><li>Self Employeds: 9%- People who blog full-time for their company or organization</li><li>Pros: 4%- Also listed as blogging full-time for their company or organization, but apparently don't blog as many hours per week</li></ul><p>3. Bloggers are educated and in good standing financially:</p><ul><li>1/3 of respondents has a household income of over $75K</li><li>75% of bloggers have a college degrees</li><li>40% have graduate degrees</li></ul><p>4. People who have worked in traditional media are migrating towards blogs. <span style="font-weight: bold;">35% of all respondents have worked within the traditional media</span> as a writer, reporter, producer or something else</p><p>5. Bloggers are beginning to use mobile devices to blog, but it is still not a common practice:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/St71Cy6fe0I/AAAAAAAAAi4/0IFx1NbOl_U/s1600-h/mobile.bmp"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 146px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o7pO6GdDMEQ/St71Cy6fe0I/AAAAAAAAAi4/0IFx1NbOl_U/s400/mobile.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395018832012081986" border="0" /></a></p><p>6. There is a significant increase in professional blogging. This means blogging for the purpose of gaining income, business connections and increased revenue is on the rise. </p><p>7. Blogging has been beneficial to individuals careers and work goals. 58% of respondents said they are better-known in their industry solely because of the blog. </p><p>8. The volume of blogging is on the rise. 57% said they plan to blog even more moving forward, which included 74% of 18-24 year olds. </p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >My Observations:</span></p><p>1. The growing number of "professional" bloggers is changing the face of blogging as we have known it for the last 10 years. Technorati asserted that only 36% of of professional bloggers discuss the political and social implications of their topics. The topical and neutral stances of professional bloggers have created a trend of less emotional, opinionated posts, which is what blogging was founded upon. I'm a professional in the social media world so I understand the idea of professional blogging, but I would hate to lose the passion and opinions that blogging is synonymous with. </p><p>2. Technorati tried to play to the dichotomy between traditional and social media with survey questions lke "are blogs better written then traditional media?" Bloggers didn't fall into the trap. Based on Technorati's data, bloggers were resistant to the notion that trditional media is either failing or decreasing it's content quality. Its important that a mutual respect remains present between the two parties because as each day passes the lines become more blurred.</p><p>3. Technorati found that "30% of those who are blogging less say it's because they are devoting more time to microblogging and social networks." In other words, bloggers are writing less because they are networking and having fun on sites like Twitter and Facebook. This is a very important trend. Does this mean that blogging is on the decline? Are other platforms rising up to destroy the blogosphere? I'm pretty sure the answer is "No." Other platforms are actually being tied into the blogosphere to help promote individual blogs. Twitter and Facebook updates are riddled with links to blog posts. Still, the next wave of technology could make blogging a pastime much in the way of chat rooms.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Technorati has been struggling to regain some of the prominence it once had. This report provides great data for all those marketers and social media junkies out there, but is it enough to bring Technorati to the top again? I guess we will have to wait and see what the next three parts of the report have to say.<br /></p><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div>Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112443489886758368.post-50794972741492176412009-10-14T19:33:00.009-04:002009-10-14T19:43:50.898-04:00Social Media Doesn't Respond to Dow Breaking 10,000<br /><br />The Dow industrials closed above 10,000 for the first time in over a year today, yet there was very little recognition of that milestone by the social media community.<br /><br />Passing the 10,000 benchmark after being below 7,000 just seven months ago didn't make Twitter's trending topics, the most Digged stories or top blog stories in Google Blog searches.<br /><br />Why didn't this make any of the lists of top stories in social media? Is this a sign that people aren't aware, are apathetic, don't believe this is significant or something else entirely?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/StZhokkdioI/AAAAAAAAAME/RvczC8flW7U/s1600-h/Twitter+top+topics.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/StZhokkdioI/AAAAAAAAAME/RvczC8flW7U/s320/Twitter+top+topics.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392604953462016642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/StZhv6KGdDI/AAAAAAAAAMM/szZ_RtxlEpk/s1600-h/google+blogs+top+topics.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 118px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/StZhv6KGdDI/AAAAAAAAAMM/szZ_RtxlEpk/s320/google+blogs+top+topics.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392605079516116018" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/StZh2x4-L7I/AAAAAAAAAMU/3-23vbbCZ9M/s1600-h/digg+top+stories.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/StZh2x4-L7I/AAAAAAAAAMU/3-23vbbCZ9M/s320/digg+top+stories.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392605197555871666" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Lsii42c7JWU/StZgyKzcKhI/AAAAAAAAAL0/oC2UuHDQkIA/s1600-h/google+blogs+top+topics.jpg"><br /></a>Jake Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06913103751918817258noreply@blogger.com0